Short Communication D-Allulose as a flavoring substance with flavor modifying properties John E. Smythe*, Joshua N. Fletcher, Lore W. Kolberg Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas LLC (Tate & Lyle), 5450 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, IL 60102, USA. *Corresponding Author. Phone: 847 396 7648 Fax: 847 396 7600, E-mail: john.smythe@tateandlyle.com Accepted 18 April, 2017 Flavoring substances are essential in the production of hedonically pleasant foods and beverages. A group of flavoring substances that is garnering increased interest is those that modify other flavors. In this study a rare sugar, D-allulose, also known as D-psicose, when used below its sweetness threshold of 2.70% in solution, was shown to possess flavor modifying properties in a beverage matrix. In particular, 1.50% D-allulose was shown to modify 0.20% cotton candy and 0.20% salted caramel flavors in water. This suggests that D-allulose acts as a flavoring substance with flavor modifying properties (FMP) when used at a level below its sweetness threshold. Key words: D-Allulose, flavoring substance, flavor modifying Abbreviations: Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA); flavoring substance with flavor modifying properties (FMP); two-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) INTRODUCTION D-Allulose is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in the USA for use in foods as a sweetener in beverages and other applications. It is a naturally occurring epimer of D-fructose that has been isolated from Itea ilicifolia, Itea virgginica and Itea yunnanensis (Hough and Stacy, 1963). Allulose is also formed during the production of many common foods such as coffee, raisins, figs, molasses and baked goods (Oshima et al., 2006; Bradbury, 2001; Zerban and Sattler, 1942). Aside from sources where it occurs naturally, allulose can also be made via enzymatic and base catalyzed epimerization of fructose (Beveridge et al., 1982; Itoh et al., 1995; Doner, 1979). Allulose is not readily metabolized and is known to have a caloric value of less than or equal to 0.2 kcal/g (Tatsuhiro et al., 2002). It is also reported to be about 70% as sweet as sugar (Chung et al., 2012). These facts suggest that allulose can serve as an effective calorie reduced sweetener. Some sweeteners have flavor modifying properties when used below their sweetness threshold. An example is erythritol, which when used at 1% was found to reduce the astringency of tea and grapefruit juice (DeCock, 2012).In order to qualify as a flavoring substance with flavor modifying properties(FMP)according to the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA)sensory testing guidance, a prospective flavoring substance must be shown not to possess an inherent taste (e.g. sweetness) and must modify flavor attributes at the level used for flavor modification (Harman and Hallagan, 2013). FEMA convenes an independent Expert Panel to review the safety and appropriateness of such uses, and if the Expert Panel determines that the substance is safe under its conditions of intended use as a flavoring substance, it is designated as FEMA GRAS for a target use(e.g. to impart or modify flavor) at specified use levels. The current study focuses on the establishment of sub- sweetening levels of allulose and the investigation of the flavor modifying properties of allulose when used below this sweetness threshold. ISSN: 2408-5472 Vol. 5 (4), pp. 258-261, April, 2017 Copyright ©2017 Global Journal of Food Science and Technology Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. http://www.globalscienceresearchjournals.org/